What Is Zoonotic?
Zoonotic, also called zoonosis or zoonoses, are diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites that can spread between animals and humans. 61% of 1,415 pathogens that infect humans are zoonotic – leaving 863 diseases that can be transferred from other animals to humans. Humans can also transmit diseases to animals, though this is called reverse zoonosis for some weird reason.
Examples of Zoonotic Diseases
While this is, obviously, not a complete list of zoonotic diseases, here are a few:
- Tuberculosis (or fish TB)
- Rabies
- HIV
- Influenza
- Swine flu
- Bird flu
- West Nile
- EEEV (also known as “triple E virus”)
- Anthrax
- Ebola
- Lyme disease
- Leprosy
- Zika
Further reading & Sources
MN Department Of Health – Zoonotic Diseases:
Disease Transmitted from Animals to Humans